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I found 2 on my dill plants tonight. I want to collect them and bring them home to watch and release them. My 3.5 yr old daughter will love this. What do you feed them. I don't have any milk weed. My dill plant is really young and 10 miles away. Is there something store bought I can buy to keep them feed?

I saw a couple of Butterflys at my garden a few weeks ago. But I have never seen the catapiller. I was out picking some fresh dill to make pickles tonight and saw them. Pretty cool stuff. I think they just hatched too. They are only about an inch long and skinny, but have the markings of a MBC.

Chuck Norris has a grizzly bear carpet in his room. The bear isn't dead it is just afraid to move.

monarchs

To my knoledge,monarch butterflys only lay eggs on milkweed. That is it's host plant the caterpillars eat. Sure wish you had some around. The caterpillars here, that like dill, are swallowtails. Black swallowtails like it best. Also I grow parsley as a host plant for them. Both do fine. I grow them primarily for swallowtails. The same with milkweed. I rear both monarchs and swallowtails. Kinda like what you are lookin to do. I find a caterpillar on the plant,and put it and plant material in a vented container. A ziplock disposable works fine. Just punch a few small holes in the top. Cool to watch thru till crystalis/coccoon. Emerges in about 10 days...facinating to watch. I also tag the monarchs. Reared and tagged 6 and reared one swallowtail last year. ck out www.monarchwatch.org for more info on monarchs.

Thanks Carl. Your are correct. It is a Swallowtail. To my untrained eye and unexperianced knowledge in Butterflys I thought it was a Monarch. Good to know and thanks for the link. I will get some and post some pics of them tomorrow after we get them.

Chuck Norris has a grizzly bear carpet in his room. The bear isn't dead it is just afraid to move.

Re: Raising Monarch Butterflys

welp...if your good with it...i'll send ya some seeds.....not long before they bloom here...i'll grab ya a seed pod afterwards.....in this area? ,it looks like big cottonwood when they fly.....pick em outta the pod n put em where ya like....you wont see them till next year tho... Carefull...invaseive....i sowed a few seeds a few years back.......now?...how much is milk a gallon?hehe

Re: Raising Monarch Butterflys

Originally Posted by Derek

I found 2 on my dill plants tonight. I want to collect them and bring them home to watch and release them. My 3.5 yr old daughter will love this. What do you feed them. I don't have any milk weed. My dill plant is really young and 10 miles away. Is there something store bought I can buy to keep them feed?

Swallowtails are just as cool! I like the little smelly horns that they stick out when you upset them